Guest post: “Scotland – Why I love it. Part 4” – by Annette

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Saturday 28 February, 2015 by Uncle Spike

This is the fourth and final part in a mini-series on Scotland. During December 2014 and January 2015, I shared some of my old photographic prints that I found from my own Scottish travel days of my past, which inspired this guest series by Annette, from My Aberdeen Garden. As mutual followers, and a long time resident of Scotland, Annette offered to share her view of the world, and let us know about life around the north-eastern area of Scotland that is Aberdeen. Enjoy…. SPIKE

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More Roaming in Scotland

Coming down from Scolty Hill we usually stop at Banchory Lodge Hotel for a well-deserved cup of tea or maybe even something stronger. We sit in the family style sitting room with a large bay window overlooking the river.

This beautiful spot at the confluence of the River Dee and the smaller River Feugh (rhymes with moo, but with a Scottish guttural “ch” at the end) has a long history. It was initially the place where livestock could ford the river and where a ferryman would keep his ‘coble’ or large shallow boat. There are records of a Coble Heugh Inn being built in 1728 to provide hospitality for the drovers. (The word Heugh meaning the steepish bank of a river.)

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In the basement of the hotel is a closed off tunnel which once led down to the river; this is likely to have been used by whisky smugglers escaping the excise men.

As you sit supping your legal whisky you can often see salmon jumping in the river – or at least see the splashes!

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Just round the corner from this hotel is the famous Falls of Feugh. We have spend many a happy hour here trying to snap a photo of a salmon leaping up river to spawn. We have seen salmon but have never seen one actually make it to the top. They must manage though else they wouldn’t be climbing back up to their birthplace. Don’t bother looking for one in the photo though – I am still trying.

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On the way back to Aberdeen there are a couple of castles with lovely grounds and gardens to be visited.

Our favourite is Crathes Castle. This imposing castle dates back to the 16th Century and is in slightly better repair than Dunnottar.

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‘Image courtesy of Wikimedia’

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The grounds include a lake, miles of woodland walks, a wild garden and a large walled garden with yew topiary.

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I hope I have given you a taste of things to see in the Aberdeen area. However I have barely touched the surface of all the beautiful places to see and all the history to delve into.

Do come and visit!

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PIPE BAND AT ABOYNE HIGHLAND GAMES

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written by: ANNETTE

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I’m Annette, a keen gardener, traveller and blogger living in Aberdeen, Scotland. I have lived in my garden, well not literally you understand, since 1987 with my husband, aka The Traveller, and my three children.

I have always loved gardening but in the early days there were always things getting in the way: Mums and toddlers, gymnastics classes, school shows, taxi runs, you get the picture. Now my children are all grown up and I have recently retired so I have lots of lovely time to tend to my garden and to write my blog. I am also interested in photography so hopefully you will see my photos improve as my blog matures, rather than deteriorate as I mature!

I hope you enjoyed this mini-series on my life in Scotland. Do come and visit!

Annette

You can visit my blog at https://myaberdeengarden.wordpress.com

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